* Add pluggable JSON backends with support for the JSON gem. [rick]

    Example: ActiveSupport::JSON.backend = "JSONGem"

  All internal Rails JSON encoding is now handled by ActiveSupport::JSON.encode().  Use of #to_json is not recommended, as it may clash with other libraries that overwrite it.  However, you can recover Rails specific functionality
  if you really want to use #to_json.

    gem 'json'
    ActiveSupport::JSON.backend = "JSONGem"

    class ActiveRecord::Base
      alias to_json rails_to_json
    end

32 files changed, 384 insertions, 239 deletions

diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base/render.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base/render.rb
index 52934076e6..33695cd78e 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base/render.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base/render.rb
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ module ActionController
         render_for_text(js)
 
       elsif json = options[:json]
-        json = json.to_json unless json.is_a?(String)
+        json = ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(json) unless json.is_a?(String)
         json = "#{options[:callback]}(#{json})" unless options[:callback].blank?
         response.content_type ||= Mime::JSON
         render_for_text(json)
diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/prototype_helper.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/prototype_helper.rb
index 6bad11e354..fb8122af35 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/prototype_helper.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/prototype_helper.rb
@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@ module ActionView
             def loop_on_multiple_args(method, ids)
               record(ids.size>1 ?
                 "#{javascript_object_for(ids)}.each(#{method})" :
-                "#{method}(#{ids.first.to_json})")
+                "#{method}(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(ids.first)})")
             end
 
             def page
@@ -997,7 +997,7 @@ module ActionView
             end
 
             def javascript_object_for(object)
-              object.respond_to?(:to_json) ? object.to_json : object.inspect
+              ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(object)
             end
 
             def arguments_for_call(arguments, block = nil)
@@ -1139,7 +1139,7 @@ module ActionView
     class JavaScriptElementProxy < JavaScriptProxy #:nodoc:
       def initialize(generator, id)
         @id = id
-        super(generator, "$(#{id.to_json})")
+        super(generator, "$(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(id)})")
       end
 
       # Allows access of element attributes through +attribute+. Examples:
@@ -1184,10 +1184,12 @@ module ActionView
         true
       end
 
-      def to_json(options = nil)
+      def rails_to_json(options = nil)
         @variable
       end
 
+      alias to_json rails_to_json
+
       private
         def append_to_function_chain!(call)
           @generator << @variable if @empty
@@ -1211,7 +1213,7 @@ module ActionView
           enumerate :eachSlice, :variable => variable, :method_args => [number], :yield_args => %w(value index), :return => true, &block
         else
           add_variable_assignment!(variable)
-          append_enumerable_function!("eachSlice(#{number.to_json});")
+          append_enumerable_function!("eachSlice(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(number)});")
         end
       end
 
@@ -1232,7 +1234,7 @@ module ActionView
 
       def pluck(variable, property)
         add_variable_assignment!(variable)
-        append_enumerable_function!("pluck(#{property.to_json});")
+        append_enumerable_function!("pluck(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(property)});")
       end
 
       def zip(variable, *arguments, &block)
@@ -1296,7 +1298,7 @@ module ActionView
 
     class JavaScriptElementCollectionProxy < JavaScriptCollectionProxy #:nodoc:\
       def initialize(generator, pattern)
-        super(generator, "$$(#{pattern.to_json})")
+        super(generator, "$$(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(pattern)})")
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/scriptaculous_helper.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/scriptaculous_helper.rb
index e16935ea87..04af2781d7 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/scriptaculous_helper.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/scriptaculous_helper.rb
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ module ActionView
       # You can change the behaviour with various options, see
       # http://script.aculo.us for more documentation.
       def visual_effect(name, element_id = false, js_options = {})
-        element = element_id ? element_id.to_json : "element"
+        element = element_id ? ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(element_id) : "element"
         
         js_options[:queue] = if js_options[:queue].is_a?(Hash)
           '{' + js_options[:queue].map {|k, v| k == :limit ? "#{k}:#{v}" : "#{k}:'#{v}'" }.join(',') + '}'
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ module ActionView
       end
       
       def sortable_element_js(element_id, options = {}) #:nodoc:
-        options[:with]     ||= "Sortable.serialize(#{element_id.to_json})"
+        options[:with]     ||= "Sortable.serialize(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(element_id)})"
         options[:onUpdate] ||= "function(){" + remote_function(options) + "}"
         options.delete_if { |key, value| PrototypeHelper::AJAX_OPTIONS.include?(key) }
   
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ module ActionView
         options[:containment] = array_or_string_for_javascript(options[:containment]) if options[:containment]
         options[:only] = array_or_string_for_javascript(options[:only]) if options[:only]
   
-        %(Sortable.create(#{element_id.to_json}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
+        %(Sortable.create(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(element_id)}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
       end
 
       # Makes the element with the DOM ID specified by +element_id+ draggable.
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ module ActionView
       end
       
       def draggable_element_js(element_id, options = {}) #:nodoc:
-        %(new Draggable(#{element_id.to_json}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
+        %(new Draggable(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(element_id)}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
       end
 
       # Makes the element with the DOM ID specified by +element_id+ receive
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ module ActionView
         # Confirmation happens during the onDrop callback, so it can be removed from the options
         options.delete(:confirm) if options[:confirm]
 
-        %(Droppables.add(#{element_id.to_json}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
+        %(Droppables.add(#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(element_id)}, #{options_for_javascript(options)});)
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/actionpack/test/controller/render_test.rb b/actionpack/test/controller/render_test.rb
index 9a34bcebe6..bf72730bea 100644
--- a/actionpack/test/controller/render_test.rb
+++ b/actionpack/test/controller/render_test.rb
@@ -194,19 +194,19 @@ class TestController < ActionController::Base
   end
 
   def render_json_hello_world
-    render :json => {:hello => 'world'}.to_json
+    render :json => ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:hello => 'world')
   end
 
   def render_json_hello_world_with_callback
-    render :json => {:hello => 'world'}.to_json, :callback => 'alert'
+    render :json => ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:hello => 'world'), :callback => 'alert'
   end
 
   def render_json_with_custom_content_type
-    render :json => {:hello => 'world'}.to_json, :content_type => 'text/javascript'
+    render :json => ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:hello => 'world'), :content_type => 'text/javascript'
   end
 
   def render_symbol_json
-    render :json => {:hello => 'world'}.to_json
+    render :json => ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:hello => 'world')
   end
 
   def render_json_with_render_to_string
@@ -875,31 +875,31 @@ class RenderTest < ActionController::TestCase
 
   def test_render_json
     get :render_json_hello_world
-    assert_equal '{"hello": "world"}', @response.body
+    assert_equal '{"hello":"world"}', @response.body
     assert_equal 'application/json', @response.content_type
   end
 
   def test_render_json_with_callback
     get :render_json_hello_world_with_callback
-    assert_equal 'alert({"hello": "world"})', @response.body
+    assert_equal 'alert({"hello":"world"})', @response.body
     assert_equal 'application/json', @response.content_type
   end
 
   def test_render_json_with_custom_content_type
     get :render_json_with_custom_content_type
-    assert_equal '{"hello": "world"}', @response.body
+    assert_equal '{"hello":"world"}', @response.body
     assert_equal 'text/javascript', @response.content_type
   end
 
   def test_render_symbol_json
     get :render_symbol_json
-    assert_equal '{"hello": "world"}', @response.body
+    assert_equal '{"hello":"world"}', @response.body
     assert_equal 'application/json', @response.content_type
   end
 
   def test_render_json_with_render_to_string
     get :render_json_with_render_to_string
-    assert_equal '{"hello": "partial html"}', @response.body
+    assert_equal '{"hello":"partial html"}', @response.body
     assert_equal 'application/json', @response.content_type
   end
 
diff --git a/actionpack/test/template/prototype_helper_test.rb b/actionpack/test/template/prototype_helper_test.rb
index cd6ee6ea11..28851f113f 100644
--- a/actionpack/test/template/prototype_helper_test.rb
+++ b/actionpack/test/template/prototype_helper_test.rb
@@ -328,28 +328,28 @@ class JavaScriptGeneratorTest < PrototypeHelperBaseTest
   def test_remove
     assert_equal 'Element.remove("foo");',
       @generator.remove('foo')
-    assert_equal '["foo", "bar", "baz"].each(Element.remove);',
+    assert_equal '["foo","bar","baz"].each(Element.remove);',
       @generator.remove('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
   end
 
   def test_show
     assert_equal 'Element.show("foo");',
       @generator.show('foo')
-    assert_equal '["foo", "bar", "baz"].each(Element.show);',
+    assert_equal '["foo","bar","baz"].each(Element.show);',
       @generator.show('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
   end
 
   def test_hide
     assert_equal 'Element.hide("foo");',
       @generator.hide('foo')
-    assert_equal '["foo", "bar", "baz"].each(Element.hide);',
+    assert_equal '["foo","bar","baz"].each(Element.hide);',
       @generator.hide('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
   end
 
   def test_toggle
     assert_equal 'Element.toggle("foo");',
       @generator.toggle('foo')
-    assert_equal '["foo", "bar", "baz"].each(Element.toggle);',
+    assert_equal '["foo","bar","baz"].each(Element.toggle);',
       @generator.toggle('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
   end
 
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ class JavaScriptGeneratorTest < PrototypeHelperBaseTest
     assert_equal <<-EOS.chomp, @generator.to_s
 Element.insert("element", { top: "\\u003Cp\\u003EThis is a test\\u003C/p\\u003E" });
 Element.insert("element", { bottom: "\\u003Cp\\u003EThis is a test\\u003C/p\\u003E" });
-["foo", "bar"].each(Element.remove);
+["foo","bar"].each(Element.remove);
 Element.update("baz", "\\u003Cp\\u003EThis is a test\\u003C/p\\u003E");
     EOS
   end
@@ -555,8 +555,8 @@ return (value.className == "welcome");
     end
 
     assert_equal <<-EOS.strip, @generator.to_s
-var a = [1, 2, 3].zip([4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9]);
-var b = [1, 2, 3].zip([4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9], function(array) {
+var a = [1, 2, 3].zip([4,5,6], [7,8,9]);
+var b = [1, 2, 3].zip([4,5,6], [7,8,9], function(array) {
 return array.reverse();
 });
     EOS
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ return value.reverse();
 
   def test_literal
     literal = @generator.literal("function() {}")
-    assert_equal "function() {}", literal.to_json
+    assert_equal "function() {}", ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(literal)
     assert_equal "", @generator.to_s
   end
 
diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/serializers/json_serializer.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/serializers/json_serializer.rb
index c709c3f1eb..e9cb8bfca9 100644
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/serializers/json_serializer.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/serializers/json_serializer.rb
@@ -74,13 +74,17 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
     #                   {"comments": [{"body": "Don't think too hard"}],
     #                    "title": "So I was thinking"}]}
     def to_json(options = {})
+      json = JsonSerializer.new(self, options).to_s
       if include_root_in_json
-        "{#{self.class.json_class_name}: #{JsonSerializer.new(self, options).to_s}}"
+        "{#{self.class.json_class_name}:#{json}}"
       else
-        JsonSerializer.new(self, options).to_s
+        json
       end
     end
 
+    # For compatibility with ActiveSupport::JSON.encode
+    alias rails_to_json to_json
+
     def from_json(json)
       self.attributes = ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(json)
       self
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
 
     class JsonSerializer < ActiveRecord::Serialization::Serializer #:nodoc:
       def serialize
-        serializable_record.to_json
+        ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(serializable_record)
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/activerecord/test/cases/json_serialization_test.rb b/activerecord/test/cases/json_serialization_test.rb
index 975acde096..0ffbc9bf3b 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/cases/json_serialization_test.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/cases/json_serialization_test.rb
@@ -26,19 +26,19 @@ class JsonSerializationTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     NamespacedContact.include_root_in_json = true
     @contact = NamespacedContact.new :name => 'whatever'
     json = @contact.to_json
-    assert_match %r{^\{"namespaced_contact": \{}, json
+    assert_match %r{^\{"namespaced_contact":\{}, json
   end
 
   def test_should_include_root_in_json
     Contact.include_root_in_json = true
     json = @contact.to_json
 
-    assert_match %r{^\{"contact": \{}, json
-    assert_match %r{"name": "Konata Izumi"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"age": 16}, json
-    assert json.include?(%("created_at": #{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
-    assert_match %r{"awesome": true}, json
-    assert_match %r{"preferences": \{"shows": "anime"\}}, json
+    assert_match %r{^\{"contact":\{}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"Konata Izumi"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"age":16}, json
+    assert json.include?(%("created_at":#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
+    assert_match %r{"awesome":true}, json
+    assert_match %r{"preferences":\{"shows":"anime"\}}, json
   ensure
     Contact.include_root_in_json = false
   end
@@ -46,31 +46,31 @@ class JsonSerializationTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
   def test_should_encode_all_encodable_attributes
     json = @contact.to_json
 
-    assert_match %r{"name": "Konata Izumi"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"age": 16}, json
-    assert json.include?(%("created_at": #{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
-    assert_match %r{"awesome": true}, json
-    assert_match %r{"preferences": \{"shows": "anime"\}}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"Konata Izumi"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"age":16}, json
+    assert json.include?(%("created_at":#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
+    assert_match %r{"awesome":true}, json
+    assert_match %r{"preferences":\{"shows":"anime"\}}, json
   end
 
   def test_should_allow_attribute_filtering_with_only
     json = @contact.to_json(:only => [:name, :age])
 
-    assert_match %r{"name": "Konata Izumi"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"age": 16}, json
-    assert_no_match %r{"awesome": true}, json
-    assert !json.include?(%("created_at": #{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
-    assert_no_match %r{"preferences": \{"shows": "anime"\}}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"Konata Izumi"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"age":16}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"awesome":true}, json
+    assert !json.include?(%("created_at":#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
+    assert_no_match %r{"preferences":\{"shows":"anime"\}}, json
   end
 
   def test_should_allow_attribute_filtering_with_except
     json = @contact.to_json(:except => [:name, :age])
 
-    assert_no_match %r{"name": "Konata Izumi"}, json
-    assert_no_match %r{"age": 16}, json
-    assert_match %r{"awesome": true}, json
-    assert json.include?(%("created_at": #{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
-    assert_match %r{"preferences": \{"shows": "anime"\}}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"name":"Konata Izumi"}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"age":16}, json
+    assert_match %r{"awesome":true}, json
+    assert json.include?(%("created_at":#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.utc(2006, 8, 1))}))
+    assert_match %r{"preferences":\{"shows":"anime"\}}, json
   end
 
   def test_methods_are_called_on_object
@@ -79,12 +79,12 @@ class JsonSerializationTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     def @contact.favorite_quote; "Constraints are liberating"; end
 
     # Single method.
-    assert_match %r{"label": "Has cheezburger"}, @contact.to_json(:only => :name, :methods => :label)
+    assert_match %r{"label":"Has cheezburger"}, @contact.to_json(:only => :name, :methods => :label)
 
     # Both methods.
     methods_json = @contact.to_json(:only => :name, :methods => [:label, :favorite_quote])
-    assert_match %r{"label": "Has cheezburger"}, methods_json
-    assert_match %r{"favorite_quote": "Constraints are liberating"}, methods_json
+    assert_match %r{"label":"Has cheezburger"}, methods_json
+    assert_match %r{"favorite_quote":"Constraints are liberating"}, methods_json
   end
 end
 
@@ -99,42 +99,42 @@ class DatabaseConnectedJsonEncodingTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
   def test_includes_uses_association_name
     json = @david.to_json(:include => :posts)
 
-    assert_match %r{"posts": \[}, json
+    assert_match %r{"posts":\[}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"id": 1}, json
-    assert_match %r{"name": "David"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"id":1}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"David"}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"author_id": 1}, json
-    assert_match %r{"title": "Welcome to the weblog"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"body": "Such a lovely day"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"author_id":1}, json
+    assert_match %r{"title":"Welcome to the weblog"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"body":"Such a lovely day"}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"title": "So I was thinking"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"body": "Like I hopefully always am"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"title":"So I was thinking"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"body":"Like I hopefully always am"}, json
   end
 
   def test_includes_uses_association_name_and_applies_attribute_filters
     json = @david.to_json(:include => { :posts => { :only => :title } })
 
-    assert_match %r{"name": "David"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"posts": \[}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"David"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"posts":\[}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"title": "Welcome to the weblog"}, json
-    assert_no_match %r{"body": "Such a lovely day"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"title":"Welcome to the weblog"}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"body":"Such a lovely day"}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"title": "So I was thinking"}, json
-    assert_no_match %r{"body": "Like I hopefully always am"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"title":"So I was thinking"}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"body":"Like I hopefully always am"}, json
   end
 
   def test_includes_fetches_second_level_associations
     json = @david.to_json(:include => { :posts => { :include => { :comments => { :only => :body } } } })
 
-    assert_match %r{"name": "David"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"posts": \[}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"David"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"posts":\[}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"comments": \[}, json
-    assert_match %r{\{"body": "Thank you again for the welcome"\}}, json
-    assert_match %r{\{"body": "Don't think too hard"\}}, json
-    assert_no_match %r{"post_id": }, json
+    assert_match %r{"comments":\[}, json
+    assert_match %r{\{"body":"Thank you again for the welcome"\}}, json
+    assert_match %r{\{"body":"Don't think too hard"\}}, json
+    assert_no_match %r{"post_id":}, json
   end
 
   def test_includes_fetches_nth_level_associations
@@ -151,11 +151,11 @@ class DatabaseConnectedJsonEncodingTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
         }
     })
 
-    assert_match %r{"name": "David"}, json
-    assert_match %r{"posts": \[}, json
+    assert_match %r{"name":"David"}, json
+    assert_match %r{"posts":\[}, json
 
-    assert_match %r{"taggings": \[}, json
-    assert_match %r{"tag": \{"name": "General"\}}, json
+    assert_match %r{"taggings":\[}, json
+    assert_match %r{"tag":\{"name":"General"\}}, json
   end
 
   def test_should_not_call_methods_on_associations_that_dont_respond
@@ -163,20 +163,20 @@ class DatabaseConnectedJsonEncodingTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     json = @david.to_json(:include => :posts, :methods => :favorite_quote)
 
     assert !@david.posts.first.respond_to?(:favorite_quote)
-    assert_match %r{"favorite_quote": "Constraints are liberating"}, json
-    assert_equal %r{"favorite_quote": }.match(json).size, 1
+    assert_match %r{"favorite_quote":"Constraints are liberating"}, json
+    assert_equal %r{"favorite_quote":}.match(json).size, 1
   end
 
   def test_should_allow_only_option_for_list_of_authors
     authors = [@david, @mary]
 
-    assert_equal %([{"name": "David"}, {"name": "Mary"}]), authors.to_json(:only => :name)
+    assert_equal %([{"name":"David"},{"name":"Mary"}]), authors.to_json(:only => :name)
   end
 
   def test_should_allow_except_option_for_list_of_authors
     authors = [@david, @mary]
 
-    assert_equal %([{"id": 1}, {"id": 2}]), authors.to_json(:except => [:name, :author_address_id, :author_address_extra_id])
+    assert_equal %([{"id":1},{"id":2}]), authors.to_json(:except => [:name, :author_address_id, :author_address_extra_id])
   end
 
   def test_should_allow_includes_for_list_of_authors
@@ -188,8 +188,8 @@ class DatabaseConnectedJsonEncodingTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
       }
     )
 
-    ['"name": "David"', '"posts": [', '{"id": 1}', '{"id": 2}', '{"id": 4}',
-     '{"id": 5}', '{"id": 6}', '"name": "Mary"', '"posts": [{"id": 7}]'].each do |fragment|
+    ['"name":"David"', '"posts":[', '{"id":1}', '{"id":2}', '{"id":4}',
+     '{"id":5}', '{"id":6}', '"name":"Mary"', '"posts":[{"id":7}]'].each do |fragment|
       assert json.include?(fragment), json
      end
   end
@@ -200,6 +200,6 @@ class DatabaseConnectedJsonEncodingTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
       2 => @mary
     }
 
-    assert_equal %({"1": {"name": "David"}}), authors_hash.to_json(:only => [1, :name])
+    assert_equal %({"1":{"name":"David"}}), authors_hash.to_json(:only => [1, :name])
   end
 end
diff --git a/activeresource/lib/active_resource/base.rb b/activeresource/lib/active_resource/base.rb
index 6cb5beb789..2e742267ba 100644
--- a/activeresource/lib/active_resource/base.rb
+++ b/activeresource/lib/active_resource/base.rb
@@ -887,9 +887,12 @@ module ActiveResource
     #   person.to_json(:except => ["first_name"])
     #   # => {"last_name": "Smith"}
     def to_json(options={})
-      attributes.to_json(options)
+      ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(attributes, options)
     end
 
+    # For compatibility with ActiveSupport::JSON.encode
+    alias rails_to_json to_json
+
     # Returns the serialized string representation of the resource in the configured
     # serialization format specified in ActiveResource::Base.format. The options
     # applicable depend on the configured encoding format.
diff --git a/activesupport/CHANGELOG b/activesupport/CHANGELOG
index cd7b47d780..ca5ab13a46 100644
--- a/activesupport/CHANGELOG
+++ b/activesupport/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,20 @@
 *Edge*
 
+* Add ActiveSupport.parse_json_times to disable time parsing in JSON backends that don't support it or don't need it. [rick]
+
+* Add pluggable JSON backends with support for the JSON gem. [rick]
+    Example: ActiveSupport::JSON.backend = "JSONGem"
+
+ All internal Rails JSON encoding is now handled by ActiveSupport::JSON.encode().  Use of #to_json is not recommended, as it may clash with other libraries that overwrite it.  However, you can recover Rails specific functionality
+ if you really want to use #to_json.
+
+    gem 'json'
+    ActiveSupport::JSON.backend = "JSONGem"
+
+    class ActiveRecord::Base
+      alias to_json rails_to_json
+    end
+
 * require 'active_support' no longer orders the whole menu of core extensions. Ask for just what you need: e.g. require 'active_support/core/time' to use timezones, durations, and stdlib date/time extensions. [Jeremy Kemper]
 
 * Removed rarely-used DRb cache store.  [Jeremy Kemper]
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json.rb
index 91f19f8a70..fc433de582 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json.rb
@@ -1,8 +1,37 @@
+require 'active_support/core_ext/module/delegation'
 require 'active_support/core_ext/module/attribute_accessors'
 
 module ActiveSupport
   # If true, use ISO 8601 format for dates and times. Otherwise, fall back to the Active Support legacy format.
   mattr_accessor :use_standard_json_time_format
+  # Look for and parse json strings that look like ISO 8601 times.
+  mattr_accessor :parse_json_times
+
+  module JSON
+    # matches YAML-formatted dates
+    DATE_REGEX = /^(?:\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}|\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}[ \t]+\d{1,2}:\d{2}:\d{2}(\.[0-9]*)?(([ \t]*)Z|[-+]\d{2}?(:\d{2})?))$/
+
+    class << self
+      attr_reader :backend
+      delegate :decode, :to => :backend
+    
+      def backend=(name)
+        if name.is_a?(Module)
+          @backend = name
+        else
+          require "active_support/json/backends/#{name.to_s.downcase}.rb"
+          @backend = ActiveSupport::JSON::Backends::const_get(name)
+        end
+      end
+    
+      def with_backend(name)
+        old_backend, self.backend = backend, name
+        yield
+      ensure
+        self.backend = old_backend
+      end
+    end
+  end
 
   class << self
     def escape_html_entities_in_json
@@ -19,7 +48,8 @@ module ActiveSupport
       @escape_html_entities_in_json = value
     end
   end
+
+  JSON.backend = 'Yaml'
 end
 
-require 'active_support/json/encoding'
-require 'active_support/json/decoding'
+require 'active_support/json/encoding'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/jsongem.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/jsongem.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..de847e30a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/jsongem.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+module ActiveSupport
+  module JSON
+    ParseError = ::JSON::ParserError
+
+    module Backends
+      module JSONGem
+        extend self
+
+        # Converts a JSON string into a Ruby object.
+        def decode(json)
+          data = ::JSON.parse(json)
+          if ActiveSupport.parse_json_times
+            convert_dates_from(data)
+          else
+            data
+          end
+        end
+
+      private
+        def convert_dates_from(data)
+          case data
+            when DATE_REGEX
+              DateTime.parse(data)
+            when Array
+              data.map! { |d| convert_dates_from(d) }
+            when Hash
+              data.each do |key, value|
+                data[key] = convert_dates_from(value)
+              end
+            else data
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/yaml.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/yaml.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c7db508c23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/backends/yaml.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+require 'active_support/core_ext/string/starts_ends_with'
+
+module ActiveSupport
+  module JSON
+    class ParseError < StandardError
+    end
+
+    module Backends
+      module Yaml
+        extend self
+
+        # Converts a JSON string into a Ruby object.
+        def decode(json)
+          YAML.load(convert_json_to_yaml(json))
+        rescue ArgumentError => e
+          raise ParseError, "Invalid JSON string"
+        end
+    
+        protected
+          # Ensure that ":" and "," are always followed by a space
+          def convert_json_to_yaml(json) #:nodoc:
+            require 'strscan' unless defined? ::StringScanner
+            scanner, quoting, marks, pos, times = ::StringScanner.new(json), false, [], nil, []
+            while scanner.scan_until(/(\\['"]|['":,\\]|\\.)/)
+              case char = scanner[1]
+              when '"', "'"
+                if !quoting
+                  quoting = char
+                  pos = scanner.pos
+                elsif quoting == char
+                  if json[pos..scanner.pos-2] =~ DATE_REGEX
+                    # found a date, track the exact positions of the quotes so we can remove them later.
+                    # oh, and increment them for each current mark, each one is an extra padded space that bumps
+                    # the position in the final YAML output
+                    total_marks = marks.size
+                    times << pos+total_marks << scanner.pos+total_marks
+                  end
+                  quoting = false
+                end
+              when ":",","
+                marks << scanner.pos - 1 unless quoting
+              end
+            end
+
+            if marks.empty?
+              json.gsub(/\\([\\\/]|u[[:xdigit:]]{4})/) do
+                ustr = $1
+                if ustr.start_with?('u')
+                  [ustr[1..-1].to_i(16)].pack("U")
+                elsif ustr == '\\'
+                  '\\\\'
+                else
+                  ustr
+                end
+              end
+            else
+              left_pos  = [-1].push(*marks)
+              right_pos = marks << scanner.pos + scanner.rest_size
+              output    = []
+              left_pos.each_with_index do |left, i|
+                scanner.pos = left.succ
+                output << scanner.peek(right_pos[i] - scanner.pos + 1).gsub(/\\([\\\/]|u[[:xdigit:]]{4})/) do
+                  ustr = $1
+                  if ustr.start_with?('u')
+                    [ustr[1..-1].to_i(16)].pack("U")
+                  elsif ustr == '\\'
+                    '\\\\'
+                  else
+                    ustr
+                  end
+                end
+              end
+              output = output * " "
+
+              times.each { |i| output[i-1] = ' ' }
+              output.gsub!(/\\\//, '/')
+              output
+            end
+          end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/decoding.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/decoding.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 70e9f40fc7..0000000000
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/decoding.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,82 +0,0 @@
-require 'active_support/core_ext/string/starts_ends_with'
-
-module ActiveSupport
-  module JSON
-    class ParseError < StandardError
-    end
-    
-    class << self
-      # Converts a JSON string into a Ruby object.
-      def decode(json)
-        YAML.load(convert_json_to_yaml(json))
-      rescue ArgumentError => e
-        raise ParseError, "Invalid JSON string"
-      end
-      
-      protected
-        # matches YAML-formatted dates
-        DATE_REGEX = /^(?:\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}|\d{4}-\d{1,2}-\d{1,2}[ \t]+\d{1,2}:\d{2}:\d{2}(\.[0-9]*)?(([ \t]*)Z|[-+]\d{2}?(:\d{2})?)?)$/
-
-        # Ensure that ":" and "," are always followed by a space
-        def convert_json_to_yaml(json) #:nodoc:
-          require 'strscan' unless defined? ::StringScanner
-          scanner, quoting, marks, pos, times = ::StringScanner.new(json), false, [], nil, []
-          while scanner.scan_until(/(\\['"]|['":,\\]|\\.)/)
-            case char = scanner[1]
-            when '"', "'"
-              if !quoting
-                quoting = char
-                pos = scanner.pos
-              elsif quoting == char
-                if json[pos..scanner.pos-2] =~ DATE_REGEX
-                  # found a date, track the exact positions of the quotes so we can remove them later.
-                  # oh, and increment them for each current mark, each one is an extra padded space that bumps
-                  # the position in the final YAML output
-                  total_marks = marks.size
-                  times << pos+total_marks << scanner.pos+total_marks
-                end
-                quoting = false
-              end
-            when ":",","
-              marks << scanner.pos - 1 unless quoting
-            end
-          end
-
-          if marks.empty?
-            json.gsub(/\\([\\\/]|u[[:xdigit:]]{4})/) do
-              ustr = $1
-              if ustr.start_with?('u')
-                [ustr[1..-1].to_i(16)].pack("U")
-              elsif ustr == '\\'
-                '\\\\'
-              else
-                ustr
-              end
-            end
-          else
-            left_pos  = [-1].push(*marks)
-            right_pos = marks << scanner.pos + scanner.rest_size
-            output    = []
-            left_pos.each_with_index do |left, i|
-              scanner.pos = left.succ
-              output << scanner.peek(right_pos[i] - scanner.pos + 1).gsub(/\\([\\\/]|u[[:xdigit:]]{4})/) do
-                ustr = $1
-                if ustr.start_with?('u')
-                  [ustr[1..-1].to_i(16)].pack("U")
-                elsif ustr == '\\'
-                  '\\\\'
-                else
-                  ustr
-                end
-              end
-            end
-            output = output * " "
-            
-            times.each { |i| output[i-1] = ' ' }
-            output.gsub!(/\\\//, '/')
-            output
-          end
-        end
-    end
-  end
-end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date.rb
index cc84de1388..79c3957362 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date.rb
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ class Date
   #   # With ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = false
   #   Date.new(2005,2,1).to_json
   #   # => "2005/02/01"
-  def to_json(options = nil)
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil)
     if ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format
       %("#{strftime("%Y-%m-%d")}")
     else
       %("#{strftime("%Y/%m/%d")}")
     end
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date_time.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date_time.rb
index 6c85824105..cdfc39b9f3 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date_time.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/date_time.rb
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ class DateTime
   #   # With ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = false
   #   DateTime.civil(2005,2,1,15,15,10).to_json
   #   # => "2005/02/01 15:15:10 +0000"
-  def to_json(options = nil)
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil)
     if ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format
       xmlschema.inspect
     else
       strftime('"%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S %z"')
     end
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/enumerable.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/enumerable.rb
index 881b1d62c1..e1c3ec249d 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/enumerable.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/enumerable.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ module Enumerable
   #   # => users.to_json(:only => :name)
   #
   # will pass the <tt>:only => :name</tt> option to each user.
-  def to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
-    "[#{map { |value| ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(value, options) } * ', '}]"
+  def rails_to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
+    "[#{map { |value| ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(value, options) } * ','}]"
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/false_class.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/false_class.rb
index bf0844334b..a7657cca37 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/false_class.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/false_class.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class FalseClass
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     'false'
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/hash.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/hash.rb
index d87b880743..19b97d7b8c 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/hash.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/hash.rb
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class Hash
   # would pass the <tt>:include => :posts</tt> option to <tt>users</tt>,
   # allowing the posts association in the User model to be converted to JSON
   # as well.
-  def to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
     hash_keys = self.keys
 
     if except = options[:except]
@@ -41,8 +41,10 @@ class Hash
 
     result = '{'
     result << hash_keys.map do |key|
-      "#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(key.to_s)}: #{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(self[key], options)}"
-    end * ', '
+      "#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(key.to_s)}:#{ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(self[key], options)}"
+    end * ','
     result << '}'
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/nil_class.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/nil_class.rb
index 4763471ac4..b31e1dd249 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/nil_class.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/nil_class.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class NilClass
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     'null'
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/numeric.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/numeric.rb
index 38713fb369..491b330c39 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/numeric.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/numeric.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class Numeric
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     to_s
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/object.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/object.rb
index 0475967aee..d68f50562e 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/object.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/object.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ require 'active_support/core_ext/object/instance_variables'
 
 class Object
   # Dumps object in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). See www.json.org for more info.
-  def to_json(options = {})
+  def rails_to_json(options = {})
     ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(instance_values, options)
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/regexp.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/regexp.rb
index b6116b70b5..63ccd7c490 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/regexp.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/regexp.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class Regexp
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     inspect
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/string.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/string.rb
index 5ef797955a..27bef3b9cc 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/string.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/string.rb
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ end
 ActiveSupport.escape_html_entities_in_json = true
 
 class String
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     json = '"' + gsub(ActiveSupport::JSON::Encoding.escape_regex) { |s|
       ActiveSupport::JSON::Encoding::ESCAPED_CHARS[s]
     }
@@ -33,4 +33,6 @@ class String
       s.unpack("U*").pack("n*").unpack("H*")[0].gsub(/.{4}/, '\\\\u\&')
     } + '"'
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/symbol.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/symbol.rb
index 485112f97c..6487bf8cb7 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/symbol.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/symbol.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class Symbol
-  def to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = {}) #:nodoc:
     ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(to_s, options)
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/time.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/time.rb
index 7d97c38d77..2699672949 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/time.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/time.rb
@@ -13,11 +13,13 @@ class Time
   #   # With ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = false
   #   Time.utc(2005,2,1,15,15,10).to_json
   #   # => "2005/02/01 15:15:10 +0000"
-  def to_json(options = nil)
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil)
     if ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format
       xmlschema.inspect
     else
       %("#{strftime("%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S")} #{formatted_offset(false)}")
     end
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/true_class.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/true_class.rb
index 037d812b3f..ac7c7d1e87 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/true_class.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoders/true_class.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 class TrueClass
-  def to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
+  def rails_to_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
     'true'
   end
+
+  alias to_json rails_to_json
 end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoding.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoding.rb
index aaaa3cdfd2..42a217cedc 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoding.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/encoding.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module ActiveSupport
       seen = (options[:seen] ||= [])
       raise CircularReferenceError, 'object references itself' if seen.include?(value)
       seen << value
-      value.send(:to_json, options)
+      value.send(:rails_to_json, options)
     ensure
       seen.pop
     end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/variable.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/variable.rb
index 7fd23b0a9e..3ee152ee3c 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/variable.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/json/variable.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module ActiveSupport
   module JSON
     # A string that returns itself as its JSON-encoded form.
     class Variable < String
-      def to_json(options=nil)
+      def rails_to_json(options=nil)
         self
       end
     end
diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/time_with_zone.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/time_with_zone.rb
index 0d4c75d272..1949ce0ad3 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/time_with_zone.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/time_with_zone.rb
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ module ActiveSupport
     #   # With ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = false
     #   Time.utc(2005,2,1,15,15,10).in_time_zone.to_json
     #   # => "2005/02/01 15:15:10 +0000"
-    def to_json(options = nil)
+    def rails_to_json(options = nil)
       if !ActiveSupport.respond_to?(:use_standard_json_time_format) || ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format
         xmlschema.inspect
       else
@@ -138,6 +138,8 @@ module ActiveSupport
       end
     end
 
+    alias to_json rails_to_json
+
     def to_yaml(options = {})
       if options.kind_of?(YAML::Emitter)
         utc.to_yaml(options)
diff --git a/activesupport/test/core_ext/time_with_zone_test.rb b/activesupport/test/core_ext/time_with_zone_test.rb
index 612a50c225..0380c28c17 100644
--- a/activesupport/test/core_ext/time_with_zone_test.rb
+++ b/activesupport/test/core_ext/time_with_zone_test.rb
@@ -57,12 +57,12 @@ class TimeWithZoneTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   end
 
   def test_to_json
-    assert_equal "\"1999/12/31 19:00:00 -0500\"", @twz.to_json
+    assert_equal "\"1999/12/31 19:00:00 -0500\"", ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(@twz)
   end
 
   def test_to_json_with_use_standard_json_time_format_config_set_to_true
     old, ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format, true
-    assert_equal "\"1999-12-31T19:00:00-05:00\"", @twz.to_json
+    assert_equal "\"1999-12-31T19:00:00-05:00\"", ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(@twz)
   ensure
     ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = old
   end
diff --git a/activesupport/test/json/decoding_test.rb b/activesupport/test/json/decoding_test.rb
index 9b4b207c88..7e1bfcca84 100644
--- a/activesupport/test/json/decoding_test.rb
+++ b/activesupport/test/json/decoding_test.rb
@@ -1,49 +1,75 @@
 # encoding: UTF-8
 require 'abstract_unit'
 require 'active_support/json'
+require 'active_support/core_ext/kernel/reporting'
 
 class TestJSONDecoding < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   TESTS = {
     %q({"returnTo":{"\/categories":"\/"}})        => {"returnTo" => {"/categories" => "/"}},
-    %q({returnTo:{"\/categories":"\/"}})          => {"returnTo" => {"/categories" => "/"}},
     %q({"return\\"To\\":":{"\/categories":"\/"}}) => {"return\"To\":" => {"/categories" => "/"}},
     %q({"returnTo":{"\/categories":1}})          => {"returnTo" => {"/categories" => 1}},
     %({"returnTo":[1,"a"]})                    => {"returnTo" => [1, "a"]},
     %({"returnTo":[1,"\\"a\\",", "b"]})        => {"returnTo" => [1, "\"a\",", "b"]},
-    %({a: "'", "b": "5,000"})                  => {"a" => "'", "b" => "5,000"},
-    %({a: "a's, b's and c's", "b": "5,000"})   => {"a" => "a's, b's and c's", "b" => "5,000"},
+    %({"a": "'", "b": "5,000"})                  => {"a" => "'", "b" => "5,000"},
+    %({"a": "a's, b's and c's", "b": "5,000"})   => {"a" => "a's, b's and c's", "b" => "5,000"},
     # multibyte
     %({"matzue": "松江", "asakusa": "浅草"}) => {"matzue" => "松江", "asakusa" => "浅草"},
-    %({a: "2007-01-01"})                       => {'a' => Date.new(2007, 1, 1)}, 
-    %({a: "2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z"})            => {'a' => Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 1, 12, 34)}, 
+    %({"a": "2007-01-01"})                       => {'a' => Date.new(2007, 1, 1)}, 
+    %({"a": "2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z"})            => {'a' => Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 1, 12, 34)}, 
     # no time zone
-    %({a: "2007-01-01 01:12:34"})              => {'a' => "2007-01-01 01:12:34"}, 
+    %({"a": "2007-01-01 01:12:34"})              => {'a' => "2007-01-01 01:12:34"}, 
     # needs to be *exact*
-    %({a: " 2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z "})          => {'a' => " 2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z "},
-    %({a: "2007-01-01 : it's your birthday"})  => {'a' => "2007-01-01 : it's your birthday"},
+    %({"a": " 2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z "})          => {'a' => " 2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z "},
+    %({"a": "2007-01-01 : it's your birthday"})  => {'a' => "2007-01-01 : it's your birthday"},
     %([])    => [],
     %({})    => {},
-    %(1)     => 1,
-    %("")    => "",
-    %("\\"") => "\"",
-    %(null)  => nil,
-    %(true)  => true,
-    %(false) => false,
-    %q("http:\/\/test.host\/posts\/1") => "http://test.host/posts/1",
-    %q("\u003cunicode\u0020escape\u003e") => "<unicode escape>",
-    %q("\\\\u0020skip double backslashes") => "\\u0020skip double backslashes",
-    %q({a: "\u003cbr /\u003e"}) => {'a' => "<br />"},
-    %q({b:["\u003ci\u003e","\u003cb\u003e","\u003cu\u003e"]}) => {'b' => ["<i>","<b>","<u>"]}
+    %({"a":1})     => {"a" => 1},
+    %({"a": ""})    => {"a" => ""},
+    %({"a":"\\""}) => {"a" => "\""},
+    %({"a": null})  => {"a" => nil},
+    %({"a": true})  => {"a" => true},
+    %({"a": false}) => {"a" => false},
+    %q({"a": "http:\/\/test.host\/posts\/1"}) => {"a" => "http://test.host/posts/1"},
+    %q({"a": "\u003cunicode\u0020escape\u003e"}) => {"a" => "<unicode escape>"},
+    %q({"a": "\\\\u0020skip double backslashes"}) => {"a" => "\\u0020skip double backslashes"},
+    %q({"a": "\u003cbr /\u003e"}) => {'a' => "<br />"},
+    %q({"b":["\u003ci\u003e","\u003cb\u003e","\u003cu\u003e"]}) => {'b' => ["<i>","<b>","<u>"]}
   }
-  
-  TESTS.each do |json, expected|
-    test "json decodes #{json}" do
-      assert_nothing_raised do
-        assert_equal expected, ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(json)
+
+  backends = %w(Yaml)
+  begin
+    gem 'json', '>= 1.1'
+    require 'json'
+    backends << "JSONGem"
+  rescue Gem::LoadError
+    # Skip JSON gem tests
+  end
+
+  backends.each do |backend|
+    TESTS.each do |json, expected|
+      test "json decodes #{json} with the #{backend} backend" do
+        ActiveSupport.parse_json_times = true
+        silence_warnings do
+          ActiveSupport::JSON.with_backend backend do
+            assert_nothing_raised do
+              assert_equal expected, ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(json)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  if backends.include?("JSONGem")
+    test "json decodes time json with time parsing disabled" do
+      ActiveSupport.parse_json_times = false
+      expected = {"a" => "2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z"}
+      ActiveSupport::JSON.with_backend "JSONGem" do
+        assert_equal expected, ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(%({"a": "2007-01-01 01:12:34 Z"}))
       end
     end
   end
-  
+
   def test_failed_json_decoding
     assert_raise(ActiveSupport::JSON::ParseError) { ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(%({: 1})) }
   end
diff --git a/activesupport/test/json/encoding_test.rb b/activesupport/test/json/encoding_test.rb
index 9e6b4fa501..db24b3d96a 100644
--- a/activesupport/test/json/encoding_test.rb
+++ b/activesupport/test/json/encoding_test.rb
@@ -19,14 +19,14 @@ class TestJSONEncoding < Test::Unit::TestCase
                    [ 'a "string" with quotes & an ampersand', %("a \\"string\\" with quotes \\u0026 an ampersand") ],
                    [ 'http://test.host/posts/1', %("http://test.host/posts/1")]]
 
-  ArrayTests    = [[ ['a', 'b', 'c'],          %([\"a\", \"b\", \"c\"])          ],
-                   [ [1, 'a', :b, nil, false], %([1, \"a\", \"b\", null, false]) ]]
+  ArrayTests    = [[ ['a', 'b', 'c'],          %([\"a\",\"b\",\"c\"])          ],
+                   [ [1, 'a', :b, nil, false], %([1,\"a\",\"b\",null,false]) ]]
 
   SymbolTests   = [[ :a,     %("a")    ],
                    [ :this,  %("this") ],
                    [ :"a b", %("a b")  ]]
 
-  ObjectTests   = [[ Foo.new(1, 2), %({\"a\": 1, \"b\": 2}) ]]
+  ObjectTests   = [[ Foo.new(1, 2), %({\"a\":1,\"b\":2}) ]]
 
   VariableTests = [[ ActiveSupport::JSON::Variable.new('foo'), 'foo'],
                    [ ActiveSupport::JSON::Variable.new('alert("foo")'), 'alert("foo")']]
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class TestJSONEncoding < Test::Unit::TestCase
         ActiveSupport.escape_html_entities_in_json  = class_tests !~ /^Standard/
         ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = class_tests =~ /^Standard/
         self.class.const_get(class_tests).each do |pair|
-          assert_equal pair.last, pair.first.to_json
+          assert_equal pair.last, ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(pair.first)
         end
       ensure
         ActiveSupport.escape_html_entities_in_json  = false
@@ -57,45 +57,45 @@ class TestJSONEncoding < Test::Unit::TestCase
   end
 
   def test_hash_encoding
-    assert_equal %({\"a\": \"b\"}), { :a => :b }.to_json
-    assert_equal %({\"a\": 1}), { 'a' => 1  }.to_json
-    assert_equal %({\"a\": [1, 2]}), { 'a' => [1,2] }.to_json
-    assert_equal %({"1": 2}), { 1 => 2 }.to_json
+    assert_equal %({\"a\":\"b\"}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:a => :b)
+    assert_equal %({\"a\":1}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode('a' => 1)
+    assert_equal %({\"a\":[1,2]}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode('a' => [1,2])
+    assert_equal %({"1":2}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(1 => 2)
 
-    sorted_json = '{' + {:a => :b, :c => :d}.to_json[1..-2].split(', ').sort.join(', ') + '}'
-    assert_equal %({\"a\": \"b\", \"c\": \"d\"}), sorted_json
+    sorted_json = '{' + ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(:a => :b, :c => :d)[1..-2].split(',').sort.join(',') + '}'
+    assert_equal %({\"a\":\"b\",\"c\":\"d\"}), sorted_json
   end
 
   def test_utf8_string_encoded_properly_when_kcode_is_utf8
     with_kcode 'UTF8' do
-      assert_equal '"\\u20ac2.99"', '€2.99'.to_json
-      assert_equal '"\\u270e\\u263a"', '✎☺'.to_json
+      assert_equal '"\\u20ac2.99"', ActiveSupport::JSON.encode('€2.99')
+      assert_equal '"\\u270e\\u263a"', ActiveSupport::JSON.encode('✎☺')
     end
   end
 
   def test_exception_raised_when_encoding_circular_reference
     a = [1]
     a << a
-    assert_raise(ActiveSupport::JSON::CircularReferenceError) { a.to_json }
+    assert_raise(ActiveSupport::JSON::CircularReferenceError) { ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(a) }
   end
 
   def test_hash_key_identifiers_are_always_quoted
     values = {0 => 0, 1 => 1, :_ => :_, "$" => "$", "a" => "a", :A => :A, :A0 => :A0, "A0B" => "A0B"}
-    assert_equal %w( "$" "A" "A0" "A0B" "_" "a" "0" "1" ).sort, object_keys(values.to_json)
+    assert_equal %w( "$" "A" "A0" "A0B" "_" "a" "0" "1" ).sort, object_keys(ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(values))
   end
 
   def test_hash_should_allow_key_filtering_with_only
-    assert_equal %({"a": 1}), { 'a' => 1, :b => 2, :c => 3 }.to_json(:only => 'a')
+    assert_equal %({"a":1}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode({'a' => 1, :b => 2, :c => 3}, :only => 'a')
   end
 
   def test_hash_should_allow_key_filtering_with_except
-    assert_equal %({"b": 2}), { 'foo' => 'bar', :b => 2, :c => 3 }.to_json(:except => ['foo', :c])
+    assert_equal %({"b":2}), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode({'foo' => 'bar', :b => 2, :c => 3}, :except => ['foo', :c])
   end
   
   def test_time_to_json_includes_local_offset
     ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = true
     with_env_tz 'US/Eastern' do
-      assert_equal %("2005-02-01T15:15:10-05:00"), Time.local(2005,2,1,15,15,10).to_json
+      assert_equal %("2005-02-01T15:15:10-05:00"), ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(Time.local(2005,2,1,15,15,10))
     end
   ensure
     ActiveSupport.use_standard_json_time_format = false
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ class TestJSONEncoding < Test::Unit::TestCase
           :latitude => 123.234
         }
       }
-      result = hash.to_json
+      result = ActiveSupport::JSON.encode(hash)
     end
   end
 
@@ -134,6 +134,6 @@ class JsonOptionsTests < Test::Unit::TestCase
     ActiveSupport::JSON.expects(:encode).with(2, json_options)
     ActiveSupport::JSON.expects(:encode).with('foo', json_options)
 
-    [1, 2, 'foo'].to_json(json_options)
+    [1, 2, 'foo'].rails_to_json(json_options)
   end
 end